Tommikka

We have been discussing the painting of an IF into a RIF thus ‘modification’ under the VCRA - which has a maximum 51 week sentence if a crime is committed. Modification by changing parts and increasing the power is a different matter. I’ll get back to that in a minute The VCRA does not care if you can find coloured parts or not. Change a coloured stock to a black stock and you have modified an IF to a RIF which may or may not be illegal based on section 37 defences. You have the option to paint a black stock into an approved VCRA colour which would retain IF status You’ve complained about legal grey areas but keep proposing other grey areas. Now back to increasing the power of an airsoft IF/RIF. Not long ago there was the legal quandary that an airsoft gun was a low power air weapon (firearm) and therefore was strictly speaking not an imitation. If it’s a firearm then the VCRA does not apply and it does not matter what colour it is as it is neither an ‘Imitation Firearm’ or ‘Realistic Imitation Firearm’ (This may trigger another side conversation that an airgun looking like a real steel firearm is both a firearm and an imitation. I shall say it’s not because it’s a firearm, so can’t be an imitation) This contradictory position was removed from the firearms act by adding the statement that a UK compliant airsoft gun within the specified power level and designed to fire plastic BBs is no longer a firearm in the firearms act and falls under VCRA criteria if either an IF or RIF So what if you do modify an airsoft gun and increase its power? It won’t be legal for airsoft skirmishing But it won’t be an illegal firearm Unless it’s power is vastly increased it would now be a low power air weapon Thats a problem in Scotland now with the need for an air weapon certificate, but not in England. It’s just an airgun I have an extensive armoury of low power air weapons which are both realistic and non realistic, but I use them to legally shoot people with UK approved frangible projectiles, and I also have the details from the Home Office stating that’s fine (with an addendum that if a court decided my realistic ones are RIFs then my UKPSF membership will be fine as the skirmisher defence - which certainly wouldn’t stand up in court to scrutiny, however since that statement was made the joules adjustment to legislation was made, and they exceed that power level so are clear of the VCRA and are compliant with approved testing of the frangible projectiles So I’m back with very legal firearms and no need for a firearms certificate By the way - the minimum level of PPE in airsoft is shite. Eye protection that is currently permitted under the law is at the absolute minimum of impact protection, such as glasses with impact protection. Only some airsoft eye protection is adequate to the risk, but as an adult players are permitted to take that personal risk by sites and their insurers. For under 18s it’s recognised as inadequate and they are required to use full face protection (effectively by the insurance industry not being able to offset the sites liability to minors)

In real life the original objective of ‘machine guns’ was to be inconsistent & inaccurate. That meant a high rate of fire and a low level of accuracy was not to deliver a line of bullets in quick succession but a distributed ‘cloud’ which either deny an area suppressing the opposition or hit a wide random selection of advancing opposition. If you’re suppressing then you want a high enough rate of fire to make the opposition hesitate from chancing their ability to run through the spaced out gaps in between them If you have a muzzle velocity of 350fps and a rate of fire of 22rps/bps then each BB has travelled 15.9 feet before the next one follows. (Ignoring deceleration etc) If they are consistent and accurate then your opposition has a gap of almost 16 feet to move in 1/22nd of a second If you’re firing accurately then they just need to keep their head down and dodge that spot

PS where are you getting a 2 years in custody from? The maximum sentence is 51 weeks, which is below one year therefore you would serve half that time, would not be subject to probation and would also get any deductions for time served pending trial. So up to 6 months, which isn’t really enough time to learn a trade & get some qualifications in a Prison Industries workshop There may also either the custodial, a fine or both custodial and fine. The fine is at level 5 fine which isn’t to be sniffed at as this level could now be unlimited in England. Level 5 has previously been £2000, £5000, £10000 9)An offence under this section shall be punishable, on summary conviction— (a)in England and Wales, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or with both; and (b)in Scotland, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or with both. http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/PIB extract - Working out how long you will be in prison.pdf https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_scale

What offence has been committed? Painting an IF into a RIF is the same offence as ‘repairing’ an IF by changing coloured parts. (Which would pretty much be changing the body shell) The difference being that painting an IF has paint as evidence. If the intent of the modifier is one of the VCRA defences then no crime has been committed Note that you have referred to grey areas and highlighted that they really are not grey areas. They are an element that is subject to opinion until it’s gone through court. ‘Gifting’ is the grey area. The law details sale, import and manufacture. People have interpreted that giving a RIF/IF to someone under 18 is legal because it is not mentioned. This has not been tested in court. If a court decides that the intent of the VCRA is to place controls on the transfer of RIFs/IFs as opposed to the contractual elements of a sale transaction then gifting a RIF without a defence would be illegal and gifting a RIF/IF to a minor would be illegal That’s the grey area of the VCRA, the section 37 defences are in black and white (taking into account the fact that Airsoft skirmishing is a supplement by statutory instrument)

That prior knowledge could be of a section 36 offence with a section 37 Defence, and therefore prior knowledge that no crime has been committed

Note that I have also (legally) received stolen goods I buy items at auction, some of which are under police auctions of recovered goods I’ve also purchased RIFs at auction without providing any defence, and I have no intent to play airsoft …. The auction may have committed offences …. I have two intents which I have not presented to the auction: 1) act as a seller and will want to see documentation of a defence 2) as an event organiser use the RIFs for players within an insured site

Possession is not an offence The only offence is modification under section 36 of the VCRA, and section 37 covers the defences. The modification in the past could have been fully legally compliant https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/37 It’s not in the same league as ‘receiving stolen goods’ in that the offence can be repeated into the future and by subsequent people The section 36 offences are manufacture (including modification), import and sale They occur at the time and subsequent changing of hands are either a new offence or are not an offence In the original draft of the VCR bill was an explicit offence of painting / modifying an IF into a RIF which did not have the section 37 defences The final VCR act does not have that as a separate offence - only within 36 which has defences in 37

As the OP is over 18 the ‘normal’ get out clause of gifting isn’t required as the separate offence is selling either an IF or RIF to someone under 18 He could legally be sold an IF or RIF The offence of modifying / painting occurred in the past, and may or may not be defendable due to the fathers intent to play airsoft at insured sites. The OP does not need an explicit UKARA membership etc to have the intent to play airsoft at insured sites, but it is up to the seller to be able to defend against VCRA prosecution for that. As it’s father and son then its fairly reasonable for the father to be able to believe or not believe what the sons intent is. Summary: Modification occurred in the past - if there is an offender then it’s the father Transfer of a free gift - legal grey area / get out clause Sale to someone over 18 with the intent to skirmish/play at an insured site = VCRA compliant

The PayPal rules vary internationally by region. For a while the PayPal rules internationally prevented almost anything gun related but were revised to what is legal in each region. When in a dispute involving a PayPal payment you should raise the issue through the dispute process, the first stages are still just communicating with the seller but it sets the timeframe. Its common for people to email back & forth then attempt a PayPal dispute finding out the time limit has expired There will only generally be rule problems once a PayPal human (or possibly PayPal AI) get involved, in which case they would withdraw from providing the protection services The likelyhood as mentioned above is that the seller refused the refund and complied with the process as far as PayPal were involved

Exactly that. When it goes into the accounts it will be an internal Polish sale at €100 item value €23 Polish VAT, (€123 total) and a UK export sale of €123 item value, €0 Polish VAT, €24.60 UK VAT (€147.60 total) Label on the package I would hazard a guess Especially as it doesn’t get paid by transaction at the time, but on a (quarterly?) account Unless someone sits in the depot checking HMRC reference numbers are valid they will fly past Then does the sellers registration actually exist, or will their ledger have every transaction on it? Remember Asian traders ‘customs insurance’? You either bought your item and later found out if the package and declaration pass through without you getting picked up with a charge and handling fee, or you paid for ‘insurance’ and they would still put on a dodgy ‘sample value $0.01’ declaration but offer to pay you back any charges

You say that in jest….

There is another factor in MTP if it’s the right material. There is a bit of science in the design which ‘absorbs’ the environment and the nearest colours in the pattern are enhanced to the human eye. It also depends on where those two pieces of material are in their life. A surplus unissued smock will be dark A surplus DPM smock that has been used for years and been through thousands of Army washing machine cycles or contract wash cycles is faded. A particular surplus DPM could have been a lighter or darker shade depending on what contract and what era it was manufactured in. Photos comparing patterns will also tell you too much. They show you the difference seen by a light sensor and what it is to look at that image The human eye sees the world differently - which field craft concentrates on. Without the human eye element and whether you are truely looking, we have extensively used an automated sentry gun and found MTP very effective against other materials even in woodland. It still performs the key function of ‘disruptive pattern materials’ which is to break up the human form The AI did show a preference for heads, which aligns with the head not being in MTP and the human bodies natural ability to keep a head steady - plus the AI began its lessons up against a football, with the head being similar-ish The AI needs to identify, track and predict where it’s valid target will be next. With MTP it had a clear preference for headshots, without MTP it swayed a little more back to the ‘easier’ target of the torso (Not only the part of the target it aimed at, but the AI image analysis saved in its log)

VAT export reclaim is for when you actually pay their VAT Buy remotely as export and the invoice will either say they charged UK VAT or no VAT Even if the top item figure was the same inclusive price originally If Polish VAT is declared on the invoice on an export sale then you can deal with their tax export rules and claim if valid

Gold and black would be ‘two tone’ in the sense that they are two colours. Legally though there is no such thing as a requirement for ‘two tone’ the law requires the IF to be clear or over 50% one of the designated bright colours: Sizes and colours which are to be regarded as unrealistic for a real firearm 6.—(1) For the purposes of section 38(3)(b) of the 2006 Act and paragraph 6(3)(b) of Schedule 2 to that Act, the size of an imitation firearm is to be regarded as unrealistic for a real firearm only if the imitation firearm has dimensions that are less than the dimensions specified in paragraph (2). (2) The dimensions specified in this paragraph are a height of 38 millimetres and a length of 70 millimetres. 7.—(1) For the purposes of section 38(3)(b) of the 2006 Act and paragraph 6(3)(b) of Schedule 2 to that Act, a colour is to be regarded as unrealistic for a real firearm only if it is a colour specified in paragraph (2) or if the imitation firearm is made of transparent material. (2) The colours specified in this paragraph are— (a)bright red; (b)bright orange; (c)bright yellow; (d)bright green; (e)bright pink; (f)bright purple; and (g)bright blue.

They could be either: Made of glass Hard material for breaking glass targets (windows etc) (Note that the advert does not specify airsoft - it’s selling ball bearings. On a legal basis in the UK it’s a matter of what you do with them In an airsoft gun my interpretation is that if you load one of these then you now have an air rifle / air weapon - and it might be an offensive weapon For a paintball gun I know that if you load something like this then you have either an air weapon or an offensive weapon. The Home Office recognise gelatine paintballs and First Stirke brand ‘shaped projectiles’ as legitimate for paintball (as a retailer paid for the approvals testing of First Strike in the UK) There are many things like this sold around the world in paintball sizes marketed as less than lethal / home defence Which is illegal here in the UK (other than authorised police and military use) The eBay seller is in China so it’s a matter of eBays worldwide rules and whether they are targeting the UK for eBay.co.uk for its rules The easy solution is to just report to eBay.co.uk

On legal specifics - no one cares unless an offence occurs or you come to the attention of the police for some other reason Possession of a RIF is not illegal, (possession in certain circumstances could be an offence - such as possession of land balaclava and a RIF in the bank) Under the VCRA the paint mattered at the point of sale ’wear’ would be some worn paint and it no longer covering >50% (Bearing in mind there appears to be a lot of two tone pistols with only the top coloured then they may not be VCRA compliant in the first place) A clean RIF is highly unlikely to be the result of wear - but I wouldn’t throw you in the dungeon for tidying up excessive wear For thread diversion ‘funny’ stories on motorbikes, I used to wear a full face helmet with flip visor open and ‘biker’ wrap sunglasses On a few occasions I would get stuck at a particular junction, it’s now replaced by the roundabout at the Stonehenge visitor centre, but it used to be part of the route used by long convoys of USAF transports either carrying something of interest or just a diversion/exercise. A police roadblock would appear and I’d be stuck for half an hour to an hour for a few parts of the road to be closed, the convoy to pass through and for them to have cleared far enough away Depending on what I had at the time I may have been on a ‘proper’ motorbike or on a bright orange Suzuki FZ50 with a granny basket on the front and Snoopy Red Baron stickers on the sides The basket typically contained a bottle of Polish pure spirt (no longer sold in civilized countries but can sometimes be found in home brew versions if you know the wrong people) I would then be sat waiting around with either the police or RMPs also waiting bored …. And looking at me & whatever I’m carrying One night the police decided to ‘observe’ my black wrap sunglasses and consider how effective they are in allowing me to see at night, and beginning to consider whether polish pure spirit could contribute to my night riding skills …… just as the barriers were being removed & I’m waved off

The precedent is there with Southampton University Society having previously registered themselves under UKARA, therefore if you attended the appropriate number of airsoft events organised by them then they could register confirmed UKARA status without the need to attend a single venue, and therefore members could purchase from retailers For painting the offence is the modification of an IF into a RIF If your intent is to play at insured venues then you meet the basic criteria of the VCRA

This can be a key distinction: Basic maintenance or technical work? The original question points towards ‘technical work to fix manufacture faults’ and should be pointless —— go back to the seller on what is not fit for purpose Users should be capable of basic maintenance - which may or may not apply. It could be high maintenance super special —— so if you can’t maintain it then don’t buy it, or decide you do want to and throw the money into someone competent to do it for you It could be low maintenance - basic adjustments, cleaning, lube —- ideally learn to do it, or waste money and peoples time It could be zero maintenance (including not bothering to conduct low maintenance) —- just go out and play until something doesn’t work

Correction - Russia do a thing knowing the risk & not caring

I blamed aches & pains on being old That is a contributing factor - but by drinking water or with hydration tablets/powders such as SIS or High5 I was cured It was abuse of my body rather than just a part of being old that must be accepted

I bet that Pops Yoshimura never bought from BBguns4less then stripped the gun down to rebuild it

If it doesn’t work out if the box, then take that up with the retailer Buy from a UK retailer then you have come back on it being ‘fit fit purpose’ They are manufactured/assembled to a standard - probably that ‘it works out of the box’ Not the most efficient or optimised for range, velocity, etc If you want it optimised in a manner then that’s what you want tech assistance for You could call upon a retailers ‘extra value’ service with proper techs, or a manufacturer approved tech Are there many of them in the world or UK for airsoft? Or you could learn yourself, get to know how your RIF is built & works and then know how to solve problems Unlike a team mate of mine with a particular gun (paintball): He bought it, it ran fine for one day, kept breaking down the next game day. So he used another gun and sent his back to tech. Ignoring our cries that it old outdated, heavy & unreliable mechanical tech. If he’s not able to easily diagnose then he needs to change to a modern reliable easy maintain gun It came back with no problems found but a service It ran fine for a day, and then broke down the next game Repeat At a major event he sees an alternate model of the same gun in the bargain bucket and buys it. Takes it out to play and it’s fine for 5 minutes then keeps failing. The tech desk is there, he takes it to them They throw his Poundland battery out and give him a decent one It works

Under firearms act definitions airsoft guns would be air weapons, thus an air rifle, air gun or air pistol. But section 57a raised an exemption if an airsoft gun is compliant F157AException for airsoft guns (1)An “airsoft gun” is not to be regarded as a firearm for the purposes of this Act. (2)An “airsoft gun” is a barrelled weapon of any description which— (a)is designed to discharge only a small plastic missile (whether or not it is also capable of discharging any other kind of missile), and (b)is not capable of discharging a missile (of any kind) with kinetic energy at the muzzle of the weapon that exceeds the permitted level. (3)“Small plastic missile” means a missile that— (a)is made wholly or partly from plastics, (b)is spherical, and (c)does not exceed 8 millimetres in diameter. (4)The permitted kinetic energy level is— (a)in the case of a weapon which is capable of discharging two or more missiles successively without repeated pressure on the trigger, 1.3 joules; (b)in any other case, 2.5 joules.] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/57A

Just like cocaine

For question 1 - self contained air powered shells remain illegal, and existing Brococks remain only lawful to the owners who obtained certificates when the law was introduced, and have no legal method of passing them on Which is contrary to the availability of other systems such as 40mm shells etc Be very careful with where you get your advice and how you act on it. You could be in danger of taking a legal rifle due to obsolete calibre and loading it with an illegal self contained system (actually the opposite of what caused self contained air cartridges to become illegal - modifying to fire ‘real’ ammunition)